


What Happened in Nashville

by 100percentsunshine



Series: Kaylor One Shots [26]
Category: Karlie Kloss - Fandom, Taylor Swift (Musician)
Genre: Anxiety, Closeted Characters, Dress, F/F, Security, dancing with our hands tied, reputation tour nashville, stalkers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2018-08-30
Packaged: 2019-07-06 22:32:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15895470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/100percentsunshine/pseuds/100percentsunshine
Summary: We all saw the videos and pictures of Karlie at the Nashville show.  But what happened behind the scenes?





	What Happened in Nashville

"She says they're going to be late," Taylor sighed. She turned off her phone, plugging it in. "So I'm not going to get to see her before I go on."

Abigail gave her a sympathetic smile. "That's okay. You guys have all of tonight after the show. She's bringing all of her sisters, then?"

"Yeah," Taylor said. "I'm kind of nervous, actually. I want to put on a good show for them."

Abi chuckled. "There's no need to be nervous. It's not like you need to impress them or anything. You've had four years to do that. They love you!"

"Maybe so, but I still want to do a good job. And this is the first time Karlie's actually seeing the show, like, the proper way. It is _her_ album, afterall." Taylor scanned over her makeup in the mirror, double checking her appearance.

"Tay," Abi said seriously, "Don't worry. You're going to do amazing. This _is_ kind of your job." She pulled Taylor into a hug. "Tonight's gonna be awesome. I can't wait. Especially for Tim McGraw and Faith Hill!"

It always amused Taylor when Abigail fangirled over musicians she'd been friends with for years. It was a little different with her closest friends, most of whom Abi had met, but it made her remember how lucky she was to know and work with so many talented artists.

"Thanks, Abi. I should probably go. I'm supposed to be on in 15."

~*~*~*~

Kimby was the reason they were late. She tried on about a thousand different outfits, and spent close to an hour on her hair and makeup. Being on time was not really a strong suit for any of the Kloss family, but Kimby was probably the worst at it.

So there they were, barreling in the top speed of a golf cart backstage. Karlie could hear the show starting, feel the pulse of the opening in her chest. She willed the golf cart to go faster. She didn't want to miss any of this. Her girl was performing tonight, doing what she did best, and Karlie wanted to see all of it.

Seeing Taylor onstage was magical. She'd seen her during her last tour, and once backstage on this one, so Karlie knew that very few things could make Taylor as happy as playing a show. She was excellent at her job, and the way she had the whole stadium in the palm of her hand made Karlie's heart soar in pride.

As soon as they arrived at their destination, they were ushered to their seats by members of Taylor's security. Taylor had called earlier and told her that she was tightening security more than usual. "Just in case," she'd said.

Abigail was already seated waiting for them. "Hi guys!" she waved, enthusiastically. Karlie gave her a hug. The redhead had regarded her warily when they first met. She was one of Taylor's best friends, and didn't want to see her get hurt. But, after she realized that Karlie was there to stay, she became one of her biggest advocates, and a true friend. She'd even invited her to her wedding.

There wasn't much time for pleasantries, because Taylor stepped out onstage. Karlie watched in awe as her fiancée strut across the stage, oozing pure confidence. Karlie nodded along to the song and couldn't help the huge smile that spread across her face. She pulled out her phone to record; she wanted to be able to look back on this moment forever.

The intro to the show was bombastic. From where she was seated, Karlie could feel the heat from the pyrotechnics. The beat of the songs vibrated her entire skeleton. All around her were fans screaming and dancing and jumping from excitement. And it was all due to the power of Taylor. Her Taylor.

Karlie mouthed along as Taylor played hit after hit. She still couldn't believe that most of these songs were written about herself. Even a year after she'd first heard them, she still marveled at the fact that she'd somehow managed to inspire a whole album of masterpieces, and that those songs each meant something different and special to every person in that stadium. And she wondered what she had done in a past life to deserve someone as loving and smart and creative as Taylor, because she sure as hell didn't deserve her in this one.

And then it came time for the acoustic songs. Kristine gripped Karlie's elbow, because she knew this was the hard bit. Karlie watched with misty eyes as Taylor sang the song with a trademark grin, thankful that she was able to put aside the pain that was reflected in the lyrics. She knew that many fans had begun to regard the song as a queer anthem of sorts, and she was grateful that they were on the other side, that Taylor could sing about that day without crying now.

~*~*~*~

Karlie could remember the day Taylor recorded Dancing With Our Hands Tied vividly. She was out of town and had just got out of work when a text from Taylor popped up asking if she could talk. _Yes_ , Karlie had replied, not expecting anything different from their usual afternoon/evening chat, although it was earlier than usual.

Instead, when Taylor's facetime call came in a minute later, she was met with teary eyes. "What's wrong?" Karlie had asked, her mind jumping to a million different scenarios.

"Nothing, nothing. I'm fine, I'm just...emotionally drained." That's when Karlie noticed that Taylor was at Jack's place. _Oh. She was writing a song._

"Write anything good?"

"Yeah..." Taylor swallowed against the lump in her throat. "I was just writing about... _that_ night, y'know, at the concert..."

"Oh, baby," Karlie sighed, wishing she could wrap her girlfriend into a hug.

"It's okay, I'm okay," Taylor assured her, wiping away the last of her tears. "I was going through some drafts of things I wrote right afterwards, and I sort of had to go back to that place mentally to finish the song. So I was just thinking about how things might be different right now if I could go back and do it over again."

Karlie was about to reassure her that things were alright, things were better now than they'd even been between them, when Jack walked in with a steaming mug of tea. "Here, Tay." He handed it to her. "Oh, hi Karlie!"

"Hey. I heard you've been writing something good."

"Yeah." He looked over at Taylor with a sad smile. "It's kinda twisted, isn't it? Sometimes the worst experiences make for the most beautiful art."

"Unfortunately," Taylor sighed. "Karlie, baby, I should probably go if we want to lay down a track for this today. I'll call you later."

"Of course. I can't wait to hear it. And Jack, thanks for taking care of her," Karlie said before ending the call.

It wasn't until Taylor called her later that night when she was settled in her hotel room that she learned just how hard that writing session had been for her. Taylor confessed that it had all hit so suddenly: as soon as she finished the lyrics the floodgates had opened and she sobbed into Jack's shoulder for almost an hour. Karlie's heart ached from all the pain they both felt from that night, and because she wished she could be there to hug Taylor and ease it away.

~*~*~*~

And now, in the present, it ached because they were still fighting, still very much in the same place they'd been the night of that concert.

 _No_ , Karlie reminded herself, _it's better now._ And it was. The two of them were going to be together for the rest of your lives. Karlie didn't doubt that now. It would be a while before they could get married, but that didn't really matter since they were fully committed to each other already. They didn't need a certificate on a piece of paper to prove that.

Things were better now. Taylor was more confident now than ever, they both communicated their feelings to each other without bottling them up, and the coming out plan was well in motion.

Karlie's sunshiny self soon returned as they were escorted over to where Taylor would be performing Dress. They were close enough that Karlie could see her every expression, close enough that their eyes could meet. For a few moments, it was just them, alone in another crowded room. And for a few seconds, that was freeing.

After the drool inducing performance of Dress, Karlie had to consciously stop her mind from wandering off to what she wanted to do later that night when she and Taylor had a room all to themselves.

The rest of the show was as magical as the first half. Karlie couldn't help but giggle at Abigail's excitement over Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's appearance. She danced her heart out, and all too soon Taylor started her last song. They'd been instructed to leave during it, so as to avoid the mob of fans afterwards, but they stayed as long as they possibly could.

They were led through the weaving hallways backstage. There, they swapped videos and favorite parts of the concert, still giddy from the show. Karlie caught up with Andrea and Scott, and managed to catch a few words with Tree before she had to run off. It was about 15 minutes before Taylor showed up. She'd showered and changed into her outfit for the meet and greet.

"Karlie!" she squealed with excitement as soon as she entered the room. She ran up to her, crashing their bodies into a tight hug.

"You totally killed it out there!"

"Oh my god, thank you," Taylor blushed, "I'm so happy you could come!"

She let go to greet Karlie's sisters and Abigail, but snuggled back up to Karlie on the couch afterwards. Andrea and Scott tactfully left the room, allowing the women to talk for a couple of minutes.

Taylor was delighted to learn that Karlie's sisters had enjoyed the show. They were all close friends at this point, but a small piece of Taylor still always wanted to impress them.

Too soon, a knock on the door interrupted their conversation. "Taylor?" Tree called, "You really need to get to rep room. It's almost 11:30."

"Sorry guys, I have to go. Thanks again for coming! We'll talk later." She pressed a quick kiss to Karlie's lips and walked out of the room.

~*~*~*~

It wasn't until they got back home that Karlie had time to talk to Taylor alone. Curled up on their bed, bare legs intertwined, she could finally bring up the small detail of the show that had been nagging at the back of her mind.

"Baby?"

"Mhmm?"

"I was just wondering...tonight at the piano, there was that moment when you kind of--"

"Freaked out?" Taylor supplied with a sigh. "Yeah, I don't know...I just thought, for a second...well, _you_ know."

Karlie did know. There had been an argument last year after she asked Taylor's security to start sending her regular updates on threats and the like. Taylor hadn't been happy about this. _"I don't want them to worry you. Stop worrying about things that don't concern you!"_

Karlie had quickly retaliated: _"Actually, all of this does concern me. Because you're my girlfriend, and I think I deserve to know if you're being stalked!"_

After a few more rounds back and forth, Taylor finally gave in. Now, Karlie received regular updates on her fiancée's safety, and she became privy to the scary side of Taylor's job she tried so desperately not to think about.

"Baby," she cooed, "I'm so sorry you felt like that." She shifted their bodies so that Taylor could meet her eyes. "Let's think about this rationally, though. You know that they would never let you onstage if they didn't think it would be safe for you. There was even extra security tonight, right?" Karlie was like that. She was rational and realistic, which balanced out Taylor's overthinking, anxious thoughts. She was excellent at calming Taylor down, but she never invalidated how she felt either. It had taken some time to understand, but Karlie knew that Taylor's anxiety felt very real to her, even if it didn't make sense to anyone else.

"Yeah, you're right" Taylor said softly. "Can we please talk about something else? I just wanted this to be a good night."

"Of course," Karlie said. She thought for a moment. "I really enjoyed our view of the Dress performance," she smirked.

Taylor's eyelids felt like lead, but she found the energy to smirk back. "I'm very glad you enjoyed it."

"You really went all out. I'm a little jealous of whoever gets to see that on the nights I'm not there."

Taylor blushed. "I don't do that for just _anyone_ , baby. The nights you aren't there are significantly more tame."

Karlie chuckled. "I'm glad. I don't want anyone else thinking the way I was when I saw it."

"Mmm, and what were you thinking about?" Taylor questioned, pulling Karlie in close. "Did it start something like this?" She pressed their lips together.

Karlie let a needy moan escape from her parted lips as Taylor moved to suck on her neck. They continued like that for a few more minutes, making out like they had in the earliest days of their relationship, before Taylor pulled away.

"Sorry baby, but I'm really exhausted right now. I'll make it up to you later?"

Karlie nodded, willing her heartbeat to come back to a normal pace. "Go to sleep, princess."

They fell asleep in the same bed that night, grateful that they were able to see each other in public again, and hopeful for the months to come.


End file.
